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Browns stumble again in the post-season, is this the year?
In 2006 and 2007 the Cleveland Browns reached the AFC title game only to fall short to the Raiders and Chargers, respectively. The 2007 post-season felt like it was the easiest path that they would ever have and GM Tom Collins questioned if they would ever get any further. The next season saw another playoff berth and the Browns got smacked around by the New York Jets in the Divisional Round.

Despite this, the 2009 off-season saw the team purge some older contracts, thanks to tighter cap space. Cleveland lost more talent in the off-season than they appeared to gain. It wasn't until in-season that they acquired CB Nathan Jones and RE Aaron Schobel. Those 2 moves had a significant impact for the Browns and they won 6 of their last 7 games to finish 11-5 on the year and the #5 seed, thanks to Baltimore owning the tie-breaker, having swept Cleveland during the season.

The Browns took down 3 division winners in the Houston Texans, Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens to advance to the Super Bowl. But, Philip Rivers had another one of his post-season melt downs and the Browns were blown out by the Washington Redskins. Obviously when you lose a playoff game things weren't great for the team. But in each of the playoff losses as a Cleveland Brown, Philip Rivers fell apart, despite what the end box score said.

It was a tough loss to swallow and GM Tom Collins reportedly needed to take some time away to re-evaluate things. During this off-season he had made comments about potentially moving on from Cleveland in the near future. "I feel like the roster is built to succeed," Collins told reporters. "The talent is there, we just need to execute. There isn't much left for us to do to try to get that ring. My job is to construct a winner and I feel like I've done that. I'm still under contract with the Cleveland Browns, but if I said I wasn't itching to get back to building a team from the ground up I'd be lying."

Typically the team is known for trading their future draft picks to acquire talent for the upcoming season. The way Collins looks at it, it's taking out a zero interest loan and never having to pay it back. When the next off-season comes and they don't have picks, they can trade the following season's picks again and keep that revolving door going. They're essentially borrowing picks and never paying it back. But Collins stated they would be breaking that trend this year.

"I don't know what's going to happen," Collins said. "I've talked with ownership and we've had some good discussions. If I were to move on from the Browns, I certainly wouldn't want to leave the cupboard bare."

In fact, the Browns ended up acquiring additional future picks. The Browns were approached by New York Giants GM Romeo Mendez about a Matt Schaub for Philip Rivers trade, which seemed crazy at first. But the Browns acquired 1.13, 4.13, Future NYG 2nd, Matt Schaub and Koren Robinson for Rivers, Billy McMullen and Future CLE 4th. It seemed like a no brainer for the Browns, and the worst part was the cap hit they would have to endure. Rivers was locked up to a long-term deal as they obviously hadn't thought of trading him. But when you get a deal too good to pass up, you can't pass it up (duh).

Schaub is a slight downgrade from Rivers, but the difference is expected to be slight. And it gives a new and hopeful outlook for the Browns in the post-season. Entering the 2010 season, Cleveland is vying for a 5th straight post-season berth with the goal to bring home the Lombardi Trophy this time.

After shopping RT Bo Lacy and RG Wade Smith, it was obvious that the market for veteran OL was weak. Cleveland drafted 3 rookie OL last year and expected to be able to trade Lacy and Smith, but it proved more difficult than they had imagined. With the downgrade from Rivers to Schaub, it made sense to reverse course and keep the more veteran OL and instead trade the young OL. That proved to be much easier. LT William Beatty was dealt to Detroit for Cleveland's original pick, 1.31. RT Sebastian Vollmer was traded to Kansas City for the Future KC 1st. Cleveland would now have two 1st and two 2nds next off-season.

Underrated WR Antonio Bryant was also dealt to Houston for 1.24. Bryant has produced at a great level for the Browns, but the team was considering moving on as they plan ahead for the future. Sometimes it's better to trade a player 1 year too early than 1 year too late. It was likely that if the team tried to move Bryant next year they would not net a 1st round pick.

Cleveland made this trade without having a plan on how to replace Bryant. They eventually traded HB Rashard Mendenhall to divisional opponent Cincinnati Bengals for WR Stevie Johnson. This just swapped one hole for another, and still wasn't a WR depth chart that invoked any fear in opponents. Peter Warrick and Stevie Johnson would likely be the top 2 guys with Koren Robinson in the slot. And not that they ran very often, or effectively, but the team would not have a starting running back.

In free agency that was fixed as the Browns signed Jamal Lewis to a 1 year contract. It's obviously a very short term solution, but Lewis should have enough juice left to give the team at least similar production to what they've had in recent seasons. Lewis was the team's lone free agent signing. They had also had an opportunity to retain RE Aaron Schobel but due to a tight salary cap, they elected not to sign him and instead he has entered unrestricted free agency.

Entering the 2010 SFL Draft, the Browns were reportedly very interested in two players. So much so that they were concerned they would miss out on both players by the time 1.13 came around. However, both players were actually on the board at the time and a trade offer the team had sent out several hours before had materialized on draft night. The offer was 1.24 and 1.31 to the New England Patriots for 1.12. After the Patriots reportedly were interested, Collins wanted to wait and see if his top two guys would be there luckily for him, they were.

At 1.12 the Browns selected WR Victor Cruz, hopefully putting an end to the team trotting out average WRs each season. Cruz worked out at 6'0", 98 SPD, 53 AWR, 96 AGI, 94 ACC, 81 CTH, 90 JMP and will obviously be a starting WR for Cleveland. When GM Tom Collins saw Cruz they immediately thought of Vikings Andre Caldwell, the back-to-back 1300+ yard, 14+ TD WR. Daunte Culpepper and the Vikings offense is more explosive than the Matt Schaub-led one we will see in 2010, but the talent is obviously there. It's not yet known where that leaves Stevie Johnson and Peter Warrick. The Browns would love to feature Stevie Johnson as he's a favorite of Tom Collins, but two young starting WRs could be problematic.

At 1.13 the Browns took TE Rob Gronkowski. This was a surprise move, selecting Gronkowski over Jermaine Gresham, but the difference was minimal and with Gronkowski a year younger, they felt that additional year was worth the difference in talent level. For the past 5 years L.J. Smith has been the starting TE for Cleveland and he's been productive. He isn't a super stud like Gronkowski is expected to be, but he was consistent as he averaged over 700 receiving yards per year for the Browns.

After the selection of Gronkowski, the L.J. Smith was obviously available and the team agreed to a trade with the Tennessee Titans, sending Smith to the AFC South for the 4.17 pick.

Later on in the first round there was one more "gotta have him" player for the Browns. After several seasons of Cleveland safeties getting exposed in 1-on-1 matchups against WRs on the outside, the Browns decided now was the time to fix that. They ended up trading that future KC 1st, acquired by trading RT Sebastian Vollmer, to New England for the 1.24 pick they previously traded to the Patriots to get Victor Cruz at 1.12. With the 1.24 pick the team selected FS Earl Thomas. He was 3rd on the team's draft board at safety, but the run on safeties had begun and they felt like it was their last chance to get a starter before the talent level significantly dropped.

It was probably a steep price to pay as the Chiefs 1st has been top 5 the past couple of seasons. But with Peyton Manning and Andre Johnson in Kansas City, along with a slew of other free agent signings, the pick is more likely to be mid 1st than it is top 10, which was a price the team was willing to pay. The selection of Thomas means that FS Gerald Alexander will slide over to SS and bump Eric Smith out of a starting role.

As mentioned, those 2nd year OL were traded and Lacy and Smith were expected to start. Lacy would stay at RT and RG Wade Smith would be on the move again, sliding over to LT. It's a good spot for him as he isn't the most athletic OL but he's a smart player who will hopefully open some more rushing lanes that we haven't seen in quite some time. The Browns lone hole on the OL was at the Center position. Wade Smith was started out of position at Center in 2009, but that was out of necessity and not something the team was hoping to do again in 2010. To address this, at least for the short-term, Cleveland traded 4.13 to Arizona for Center Justin Hartwig. It's a significantly stronger OL than the one they had in 2009.

With the offense set, there were only a handful of positions that still needed to be addressed. LOLB Takeo Spikes, who had a fantastic year in 2019, has departed. LE Dwight Freeney played most of the year at ROLB, allowing RE Calais Campbell to slide over to LE. Freeney wasn't great in pass coverage, despite his ridiculous athleticism. And seeing how Spikes thrived in the pass rushing role, the team is hoping that Freeney can go several steps beyond that in 2010. They're hoping to address the ROLB position so Freeney can start at LOLB.

After electing not to sign Aaron Schobel, the RE position is wide open. Quentin Groves began 2009 as the starter, but the difference in production was quite obvious between the two. Cleveland traded 5.2, 5.3 and 5.10 to the Dallas Cowboys for LE Tyler Brayton. Brayton was previously with the Browns from 2005-2007 but had fallen out of favor due to a lack of productivity behind the line of scrimmage. However, after offering a max contract to Dwight Freeney in 2008, which also cost them their future 1st, the productivity still wasn't there. So perhaps it wasn't the player but was the system? That's what the team is hoping in 2010 as Brayton is expected to be starting at RE this upcoming season.

The only other glaring hole for the team is at DT2. Kris Jenkins is obviously cemented in as the starting DT and is one of the best in the league. The Browns ran a 3-4 defense for a big portion of the 2009 season and that may also be in the cards for them in 2010 as well. But, they have roster minimums they must meet, and there are formations that will call for 2 DTs, so this is an area that they need to address still. Perhaps they will be able to swap someone like Koren Robinson for a veteran DT on a budget friendly contract.

After what looked like it could potentially be the final season in Cleveland for Tom Collins, it appears as though he has some players to root for now. So perhaps he stays after all? Despite all the moves this off-season, the team still has the Future CLE 1st & 2nd and the NYG 2nd, leaving them eligible to enter the GM Transfer Protocol in 2011 if they so choose.

Here is the projected starting lineup so far:

QB: Matt Schaub | HB: Jamal Lewis | FB: Adimchinobe Echemandu
WR: Victor Cruz | WR: Stevie Johnson | WR: Peter Warrick | TE: Rob Gronkowski
LT: Wade Smith | LG: Andy Levitre | C: Justin Hartwick | RG: Jacob Bender | RT: Bo Lacy

LE: Calais Campbell | DT: Kris Jenkins | DT: ??? | RE: Tyler Brayton
LOLB: Dwight Freeney | MLB: Dan Connor | ROLB: ???
CB: Nathan Jones | CB: Josh Lay | CB: Dante Hughes | FS: Earl Thomas | SS: Gerald Alexander

K: Josh Scobee | P: Chris Kluwe
Forum Discussion (by T_Collins on 09/18/2021) Replies - 0 :: Views - 11
Browns midpoint status & some random thoughts
Much like the 2008 campaign, our season has seen a lot of close games so far. In 2008 we suffered a pair of blowout road losses to the Ravens and Bengals before having 4 blowout victories in our favor in weeks 9, 11, 12 and 16. This year we have had a pair of divisional road losses again, this time to the Ravens and Steelers, although they were not blowouts this time around. Those divisional road games are still difficult, and I still believe that home field advantage is a thing in Madden. But I also believe that divisional games are the toughest games you will face. It feels that even when your divisional opponents may be struggling, the games can often times be very close or difficult.

Last year we started off the season 5-3 before finishing 9-7. We benched our starters in week 17 against the Steelers as it didn't change seeding. That move may have proved costly as Tim Miller was able to keep his job. Despite no big acquisitions, a Steelers team that barely squeaked to 6 wins is now 6-1 and leading the division. Who saw that coming?

Now in 2009 we're off to another 5-3 start after dropping the week 8 game against the Bears. It was a loss I couldn't get upset with. They're having a great season and you hope to pull it off but can't be too angry when you don't. We had a WR get stripped and the Bears returned it for a 42 yard TD. That was the 2nd turnover for us in the game, as early on Philip Rivers threw a bad INT very close to our own goal line, that led to an easy layup TD. Mistakes like that are hard to overcome against good teams.

But a 5-3 start is still respectable. That projects to a 10-6 finish, and that would probably be good for a Wild Card slot. The Steelers have a much more favorable schedule as they face only 3 teams the rest of the way that are ranked in the top 16, and one of them is Denver, who lost Ben Roethlisberger for 6 more weeks. It's another stroke of luck for Pittsburgh, who I feel has had a ton of it this year. Despite having one of the worst secondaries on paper with a not-so-special DL, they're somehow 4th best in points allowed.

It's hard to copy what's working for them. I'm not a big conspiracy theorist when it comes to Madden. I don't like to blame the game engine or "AI" like a lot of people seem to do. But I will say that there are times it feels that teams are destined to fail or prosper when they may not have deserved to. This feels like one of those years for Pittsburgh, as the team talent just doesn't look like that of a #1 seed. There are other times I've felt that way. I don't see the Cowboys as a 5-1 team either. The 2007 Raiders were inexplicably 7-9 after making it to the Super Bowl in the previous season and making very few changes to a very good team. The 2005 Giants all of a sudden blossomed into an 11 win team after a 5 win season the year before, boasting one of the top defenses in the league without the talent to match.

This is, of course, a matter of my personal opinion. But sometimes I feel there are things that are just odd and will balance themselves out over time, and some things that I just can't explain. Like why I can't run the ball. First it was not having athletic OL. So in 2006 I made changes to that, but I also acquired higher AWR OL that weren't super-stud physically. It worked, but I also had a team of veterans like Drew Bledsoe, Terrell Owens, Hines Ward and Deshaun Foster. That roster build was obviously short-lived due to being on the hot seat. I've tried to add athletic OL since then. The last 2 years I blamed my run game on having a low AWR LT and LG. I wanted them to get their sophomore boosts so they didn't get progression points applied. They were essentially rookies.

Then last draft was stacked with OL, so instead of cashing in all those progression points for Manuel Ramirez, he was traded. Jacob Bender was able to get his points applied, but now we have 3 rookie OL. So we rebooted that timeline of when we will have an OL of athletic guys with the AWR to match. It feels like we will be stuck in a pass-first offense, which has worked for us, but having a balanced offense is something that could make our team much more dangerous.

I look at the Oakland Raiders and wonder what the hell I'm doing wrong. They have 5 OL at 72 AWR or lower. 4 of them were in the 60s for AWR. That isn't all that different than what I'm starting, but the results are significantly different. The Raiders have the #1 run game, we are 26th. Sure, they're running a more run-oriented playbook. But we aren't not running it because of stubbornness. Whenever I try it in sims, we stink. We still can't run, and our passing game is nerfed. I can't put my thumb on it. So while I say there are times Madden has teams it favors during a season, this is one of those times where I feel it's not anything that's pre-determined, but something I'm just not seeing. Are the Raiders an anomaly? Or are we too close to things to see what we're doing wrong?

It's not as easy as plugging in a gameplan that works for another team and expecting the same results. Teams are built different. The opponents are different. I wish I could plug in the Jets defensive gameplan and get those sack numbers. I've tried it and it didn't work. The Jets are averaging 3.5 sacks per game. When I try running that defensive gameplan I'd be lucky to get 1 or 2, and often times getting 0. That can be explained away with the Jets having an excellent team. But that comes back to the Steelers. We can't explain away the Steelers defense by looking at the talent on the roster, because the roster would be telling us they have one of the worst defenses in the league. I traded GB 1st, BUF 2nd and CLE 2nd for CB Nathan Jones, pairing him with CB Josh Lay, whom I also traded a 1st for, and veteran CB Nick Harper, and we're getting grossly outplayed by CB Blue Adams and CB Stanley Wilson. Mind boggling!

So this tour of explaining theories and weird stuff was really about our trajectory the rest of the way. The goal is to try to fix the defense. I have no idea what to do to it. I've played Dwight Freeney out of position at ROLB because he would rack up 10+ tackles and was an animal in sims. But is it hurting our run defense now that Calais Campbell is at LE and Quentin Groves is starting at RE? Several games we have seen RBs get 5, 6, 7, 8+ yards around the edge untouched. It's a killer. The solution may be to stick Freeney back at LE where he doesn't produce like we thought he would. That means Calais plays out of position at RE, as I officially moved him to LE, and Takeo Spikes would need another position change to go to ROLB. What a cluster fuck.

On the other side of the ball, I'm hoping to find a gameplan that works for our run game. We will revisit the Broncos PB, but I imagine that won't all of a sudden work for us, as I try it in sims every week and can't get it to work. I have theorized that offensive and defensive playbooks are tied to one another. So perhaps a change to a defensive gameplan that is more "in sync" with my offensive gameplan is the solution. Who knows anymore...

Based on the LP power rankings it looks like my remaining 8 games are friendly. We face two teams in the top 16, the Steelers and Raiders. Two teams that are perplexing me, so I'm super stoked to get to square off against them. I'm sure my gameplans will be terrible since I don't understand the success they're currently enjoying, so finding a way to stop them and attack them seems unlikely.

The other 6 games are against the Ravens, whom we lost to earlier on the road, Lions, road game against the Bengals, Chiefs, and Jaguars. The Chiefs are struggling and have yet to win, and the Jaguars just got Brian Brohm back today only for him to get injured again. It sounds like he may not be starting for them the rest of the year, but a lot can change by week 17. The Bengals are rebuilding and have been selling off a lot of pieces, but divisional road games are not fun, so that's no walk in the park. I would be happy if we came out of the last 8 with a 5-3 record, giving us a 10-6 record and hopefully a Wild Card slot.

Luckily week 9 is our bye, so it gives us 8 calendar days to find something to work, or to overthink everything and do something foolish, which is probably the more likely scenario.
Forum Discussion (by T_Collins on 08/02/2021) Replies - 1 :: Views - 25
Browns sign 8 in post-draft Free Agency
While it's usually not a good sign to be bringing in 8 guys in the FA period after the draft, it's a move to bring in more talented depth in hopes that we see an improvement on special teams.

The 8 signings were RE Anthony McFarland, P Chris Kluwe, QB Bruce Gradkowski, C Drew Hogdon, C L.P. Ladouceur, CB Dante Hughes, CB Antonio Perkins, and HB Kolby Smith.

McFarland was signed to be the #2 DT. We are most likely going to run a mostly 3-4 defense, but when we are in 4-3 sets we didn't want to have to rely on DT LeKevin Smith again this season. After drafting 3 OL this draft, we don't have enough starting spots for the OL we have. RT Bo Lacy will actually be a backup this year! While RG Wade Smith is playing out of position at C this year, we still needed to meet roster requirements and needed to acquire 2 Centers. Bruce Gradkowski was surprisingly released by the Panthers just 2 years removed from the talk about him being the GOAT. Obviously that was humor, but he performed rather well for a young QB and he will be the #3 QB for us, with plans to play him for the entire preseason to get him some progression. We didn't have a Punter on the roster so we obviously needed one, and HB Kolby Smith fits the mold we are looking for at RB and have in guys like Rashard Mendenhall and Marion Barber.

In addition, we have an agreement in place to bring CB Josh Lay to Cleveland with the intentions of starting him for the 2009 season.

Forum Discussion (by T_Collins on 06/24/2021) Replies - 0 :: Views - 16
Browns 2009 Draft Day 2
2.13 - RT Sebastian Vollmer

We were slated to have two 3rd round picks on day 2 but were working the trade chats trying to move up. Ultimately the player we were hoping to land was C Eric Wood. However, he ended up going to the division rival Cincinnati Bengals at 2.12. Once that happened, Dallas was willing to accept the offer that we were making: 3.01, 3.20 and Future Browns 4th for an upcoming 2nd, although I don't believe their willingness to deal was tied to the Bengals selection.

After C Eric Wood was taken, there was a backup option that we were prepared to make. However, we had 2 PWs left to use and since we wouldn't be picking again until the 6th round, there was no reason to save them for what would be nothing more than cheap backups. Using those 2 PWs actually resulted in the player we selected with the 2.13 pick we obtained from Dallas.

After picking LG Andy Levitre and LG William Beatty, despite not having a need for either player, it felt wrong to trade up to take another OL we didn't have a need for. However, the talent level was too good to pass up and despite the AWR, he's actually better than Beatty who was taken 12 spots earlier.

After the first two OL were picked, it was pushing RG Wade Smith into playing out of position at Center. But now this pick is going to push RT Bo Lacy out of his job as well. Both Smith and Lacy should net us a 1st round pick each. The only issue is the cap hit we would endure as we are already at a $19m cap hit for next season. We will have to hang onto both until the 2010 off-season before trading them, which is fine as we have two 1sts and two 2nds for next year's draft already.
Forum Discussion (by T_Collins on 06/18/2021) Replies - 0 :: Views - 18
Browns 2009 Draft Day 1
1.16 - LG Andy Levitre

We selected 16th overall after a series of trades resulted in three 2nd round picks that were subsequently traded to Detroit prior to the draft for the 1.16 pick. I was toying around with the idea of trading back and collecting a pair of picks in the late 1st/early 2nd. Luckily there weren't many teams that had what I was looking for. I honestly felt like I had a chance at a CB like Keenan Lewis and was ultimately hoping to land a starting CB with the pick.

The first 3 picks were as predicted, but the Seahawks shocked a lot of GMs when they took WR Michael Crabtree. CBs went with the next 2 picks and it snowballed from there. There were 7 CBs taken in the first 15 picks. The downside is that it was our biggest need. However, several players fell later than they should have as teams continued to reach for CBs.

This led to Andy Levitre, whom I felt was the top OL in the draft, falling to us in the middle of the round. In my two mocks I had him going 1.03 and 1.09. I had no belief that he would fall and despite not having a need for him, it was just too good to pass up.

2.01 - LT William Beatty

We traded the 1.24 pick to the Buffalo Bills along with 4.01 for 2.01 and 3.01. At the time there wasn't anyone that jumped off the page as a "gotta have him" type of guy. There's been times when I got too cute and traded back only to get burned and have all my guys get taken before I picked again. This time there weren't any players selected between 1.24 and when I picked again at 2.01. I was thinking that I could flip the 2.01 pick for a future 1. And instead of just trading 1.24 for a future 1, I could bank 3.01 in the process. However, there weren't any offers coming in and as time went on I couldn't help but salivate over a player.

After working out several players I zeroed in on Beatty. He stands at 6'6", 307lbs, 64 SPD, 91 STR, 60 AWR, 69 AGI, 76 ACC, 87 PBK, 83 RBK. He's very comparable to RT Bo Lacy and I felt was the best player available. We didn't have a need for him, especially after selecting Andy Levitre but he was too good to pass up. I had mocked Beatty at 1.19 and 1.23 picks in the 2 mocks I created.

I was considering C Eric Wood here as he is my favorite Center in the class. However, I don't value Centers like some other GMs do and would rather have an OL who can be flexible and be moved to LT, LG, RG and RT than a Center who is cemented into one spot.

It's likely that as a result of these two selections, LG Manuel Ramirez will be without a job. LG Andy Levitre will stay at his given position, despite his super athleticism while he develops and ultimately moves to the RT side. The original plan was for LT Jacob Bender to make the move there. LT William Beatty will likely stay at LT to avoid the AWR hit, just like Levitre. That means LT Jacob Bender is on the move and will likely move to RG. RG Wade Smith will play out of position at Center and take a 20% AWR hit, which is still better than anything else we can obtain at this point.

Here's how the OL will shape out for the 2009 season:

LT William Beatty | LG Andy Levitre | C Wade Smith | RG Jacob Bender | RT Bo Lacy
Forum Discussion (by T_Collins on 06/17/2021) Replies - 0 :: Views - 24

All Team News Stories

At A Glance

BROWNS FRONT OFFICE
GM T_Collins
Head Coach Butch Davis
Offensive Coordinator T.Shea
Defensive Coordinator Foge Fazio
Special Teams B.Miller
Salary $103.22M
Cap Penalty $18.32M
Cap Room $1.46M

INJURY REPORT
PLAYER POS OVR LENGTH

AFC North
RNK TEAM W-L-T PCT DIV
#7 Bengals y-Bengals 10-6-0 0.625 5-1
#13 Browns x-Browns 10-6-0 0.625 5-1
#28 Steelers Steelers 5-11-0 0.313 2-4
#32 Ravens Ravens 4-12-0 0.250 0-6

BROWNS SCHEDULE
Preseason
WK DATE OPPONENT SCOUT/RESULT
P1 Sat vs Chiefs Chiefs #25
Won 30-7
P2 Sat vs Lions Lions #20
Lost 10-13
P3 Sat at Broncos Broncos #29
Lost 10-28
P4 Thu at Bears Bears #26
Lost 21-28
Regular Season
1 Sun vs Steelers Steelers #28
Won 25-19
2 Sun vs Bengals Bengals #7
Won 13-12
3 Sun at Raiders Raiders #22
Won 27-26
4 Sun vs Ravens Ravens #32
Won 31-7
5 Sun at Patriots Patriots #27
Lost 27-44
6 Sun vs Dolphins Dolphins #17
Won 16-14
8 Sun at Rams Rams #14
Won 30-10
9 Sun vs Seahawks Seahawks #12
Lost 3-31
10 Sun at Steelers Steelers #28
Won 24-16
11 Sun at Ravens Ravens #32
Won 22-9
12 Sun vs Texans Texans #2
Lost 24-40
13 Sun at Cardinals Cardinals #6
Lost 13-19
14 Sun at Jets Jets #9
Won 32-29
15 Sun vs Bills Bills #5
Lost 23-24
16 Sun at Bengals Bengals #7
Lost 41-47
17 Sun vs 49ers 49ers #23
Won 34-27